East Rutherford, NJ—The Chicago Fire collected their first title of the season, winning the U.S. Open Cup on a Damani Ralph goal from an Evan Whitfield cross in the 68th minute over the Metrostars 1-0 at Giants Stadium. The championship is the third cup for the six-year old Fire franchise, while the Metrostars are still looking for their first title in club history.
In a tight defensively dominated battle, the Fire used a quick restart after a foul by Edgar Bartolomeu on Whitfield. Team Captain Chris Armas raced forward and found Whitfield attacking the flatfooted Metrostars defense. A nice give and go down the right side with former Metro Andy Williams enabled Whitfield to step in behind Amado Guevara.
Just after entering the 18-yard box he spotted a wide-open Ralph at the penalty spot and hit a beautifully placed back pass that rolled right to Ralph. Ralph had no trouble beating a diving Jonny Walker with a one-time shot into the lower right hand corner of the net. Walker later denied Ante Razov in the 76th minute that would have sealed the match for the Fire. Despite some late game heroics from the Super-sub John Wolyniec the Chicago Fire defense had little trouble from the Metrostar’s offensive attack.
In a match that featured five of the top 13 scorer’s in the tournament it was the defense that stole the show. The tournament’s leader in points Guevara (4g-2a-10pts.) was held to just two shots. His most dangerous coming the in the 80th minute heading a cross from Mark Lisi, which Zack Thornton grabbed out of the right corner to preserve his clean sheet.
The Chicago Fire now have a 15-3-1 record in Open Cup play and currently are enjoying a six-game winning streak at the Meadowlands. The “Men in Red” are one step closer in their pursuit of “The Triple” having captured the Open Cup. They are tied with the San Jose Earthquakes with 50 points and both teams playing on Saturday. The last jewel in the triple would be the MLS Cup on November 23 in California.
The Metrostars have little time to regroup before they start a crucial home-and-home series with the New England Revolution on Saturday, October 18 at the Meadowlands at 7 p.m., and closing out the regular season on Saturday, October 25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
